TBR Football

Five years on from opening night, the Premier League’s most impressive arena is still rather clunkily called the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The absence of a naming rights deal is arguably the only element of the move to the new ground that has not gone to plan. From a business perspective, at least.

The stadium has been transformative for Spurs financially, with both matchday and commercial income up by almost 300 per cent from the final season at White Hart Lane.

But for some fans, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a symptom of an ownership regime who prioritise commercial growth over the traditional metric of success for a football club: success on the pitch.

Spurs suffered what is already their sixth Premier League defeat this season at Bournemouth last night, with Ange Postecoglou confronting a traveling fan who made their frustrations clear at full time.

They are without a trophy since 2008.

The riposte from Daniel Levy and his peers in the Spurs boardroom is that increasing operating revenue will facilitate greater expenditure on recruitment and retention and, eventually. silverware.

There is no denying that the North London club’s spending has increased markedly since 2019, but the gap between their squad cost (wages plus amortisation) and revenue is widening.

One of the reasons that Spurs are courting fresh minority investment is, according to Levy, to fund investment in the playing squad, as well as capital expenditure projects.

To any prospective buyer, the stadium is the club’s biggest asset.

The project came in at around £1bn all told, with Spurs accessing a combination of private finance and bank loans, as well as a modest government grant, to fund its construction.

The NFL, whose annual London Games series is now a fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, also £10m towards the costs.

That deal was a clear signal of intent from Spurs, whose commercial acumen cannot be doubted even if some of the football decisions they have made in recent years have been less successful.

As well as the NFL deal, the club have a 15-year partnership with Formula One that has seen a karting track installed at the stadium. It has also become one of the go-to venues for combat sports.

Then, of course, there are the big-name concerts. Beyonce, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and Lady Gaga are among the A-listers to have performed in N17.

Levy has said that one of the reasons that they are yet to sign a naming rights deal is because Spurs are enjoying the benefits of having the club name directly associated with these events.

But the mood music in North London is that the club are still actively searching for the right deal.

Tottenham still in market for stadium naming rights deal

Initially, Tottenham were believed to be looking for around £200m over a minimum 10-year deal for their naming rights.

In the naming rights market, the received wisdom is that non-virgin rights (AKA the license for a stadium that has previously gone by another name) are worth considerably less.

The consensus within the football finance industry was that the value of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as it has been called for five years, has dwindled significantly.

But TBR Football understands that the market has been galvanised by Allianz’s deal with England Rugby’s Twickenham Stadium and Riyadh Air’s with Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano.

Those deals, worth around £10m and £25m per year respectively, were both for non-virgin naming rights.

Significantly, although Spurs gave evidence against them, Man City’s recent challenge to the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction rules has opened access to the league-wider commercial database.

That means they can now see the values of Emirates, Amex, Etihad’s stadium naming rights, giving them more ammunition to extract maximum value from a prospective deal.

Previously, TBR has been told that Spurs have held talks with Amazon and Google, although that was now over a year ago and the outcome of those talks is not known.

More recently, Spurs have spoken to DHL, the German logistics company, about a naming rights deal.

Another potential lever for Tottenham in negotiations is that they now have a license to host up to 30 non-football events per year at the stadium, up from 16.

They will also host matches Euro 2028.

UEFA insist on clean, unbranded stadia for their competitions. But FIFA’s decision to allow branded stadiums for the Club World Cup may suggest which way the wind is blowing in this department.

New chief commercial officer could seal huge deal for Tottenham

When Todd Kline, Spurs’ former chief commercial officer, joined Tottenham in 2021, his self-stated A1 priority was to secure a naming rights deal for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

He failed in that endeavour and, in a move that was greeted with the most cursory of statements from Spurs, has now quit for Chelsea.

That was back in February, but Kline has been on gardening leave since then, only beginning his role in October.

Spurs are yet to name a new chief commercial officer but, as football finance expert and industry insider Kieran Maguire forecasted to TBR earlier this year, have had someone working in the role privately.

Documents seen by TBR show that Spurs new chief commercial officer was listed among the attendees at Leaders’ Week, the sports business industry’s biggest conference, in October.

Their principle task, like Kline’s before them, will be to find a naming rights deal that is both lucrative and aligns with the club’s branding strategy.

Tottenham Hotspur have not enjoyed the past two weeks since beating Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Ange Postecoglou has now seen his side take just two points from their last three games across all competitions.

And Tottenham now find themselves slumped down in tenth spot of the table having missed a number of opportunities now to break into the top four.

The defeat on Thursday night saw Postecoglou confront annoyed Tottenham fans at the end of the game as they vented their frustrations.

And that has seen pressure pile on the Australian who now faces an in-form Chelsea in north London this weekend.

Speaking ahead of the game against Enzo Maresca’s side, Postecoglou has issued a defiant message to the Tottenham board.

What Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou said about Daniel Levy

Following the defeat against the Cherries, Jamie O’Hara admitted Postecoglou could face the sack with results not going Tottenham’s way.

However, on Friday morning, sources told TBR Football that Tottenham still have faith in Postecoglou with no immediate concerns over his position.

And in his pre-Chelsea press conference, the Australian has admitted he does not need the backing of Daniel Levy and the club’s hierarchy.

“I don’t need support. I don’t worry about contracts, I don’t worry about support. I just want to make sure that what I set out to do, I accomplish and that is to bring success to this football club,” he told the media.

“I will work my backside off to make sure that happens. I am not going to be deterred in my ambitions or endeavour to do that and that’s what I’ll keep doing.”

Postecoglou admitted Tottenham need signings in January after commenting on the injury issues which the club have already faced.

Injuries have certainly caused Spurs some major issues with numerous first team starters sidelined through respective issues, but the results have been hugely underwhelming so far.

Postecoglou says Tottenham fans are not behind him

The scenes at the end of the game on Thursday night were not great to see from a Tottenham perspective.

Even Heung-min Son was frustrated with some Spurs players that did not go over to applaud the fans following their loss.

But it was Postecoglou who did bear the brunt of the frustrations and he admitted on Friday he does not think the fans are behind him.

“They’re not behind me, they’re behind the club. I’ve got no interest in who’s behind me,” the 59-year-old said on Friday.

“You got to figure the ones who travel to Bournemouth are pretty hardcore supporters, they weren’t happy with what they saw, they felt like they needed to give me some feedback, I took the feedback on board and we move on.”

Tottenham Hotspur suffered another frustrating defeat on Thursday night, this time coming on the road away to Bournemouth.

Although Tottenham are suffering from a number of injury issues, they have dropped a significant number of points already to lesser sides this season.

Ange Postecoglou confronted the angry Tottenham fans at the Vitality Stadium following the full-time whistle.

It has been a hugely underwhelming start to the campaign for the Lilywhites who have missed numerous opportunities to position themselves amongst the Champions League battle.

However, on Friday morning, TBR Football sources have confirmed Daniel Levy and Tottenham are not panicking about Postecoglou’s position at the club.

Tottenham not looking to sack Ange Postecoglou

The away fans were not the only people venting their frustration on Thursday night as Jamie O’Hara suggested Postecoglou could be sacked following the game.

But TBR understands the north London club still hold belief in the Australian to see out the project he has started at Spurs.

Tottenham are also well aware of the struggles which Postecoglou is facing putting a side together currently due to injury issues.

Micky van de Ven is nearing a return from injury, but he is just one of the Spurs starters who has been sidelined recently.

Although Levy is aware of Tottenham’s standards, it is understood no one is working harder than the 59-year-old to put things right.

Postecoglou ‘really disappointed’ by Bournemouth loss

Although Spurs deserved everything they got on the south coast, some Bournemouth players praised Tottenham’s physicality shown under Postecoglou.

However, the Australian was not pleased with what he saw on Thursday night and admitted it was a repeat occurrence for this side.

“We have to open up. They can sit back. Just really disappointing it has happened again,” he told the media.

“Something for me to mull over and do something about.”

Spurs now have some more traditionally difficult fixtures coming up over the coming weeks but the club are maintaining their faith in Postecoglou, for now.

Tottenham Hotspur fans were disappointed again on Thursday night as they travelled back to London without any points.

Ange Postecoglou’s side tasted defeat against Bournemouth as their streaky form in the Premier League continues to play out.

Having failed to win since their emphatic victory over Manchester City, Tottenham are now sitting down in tenth spot of the table.

Postecoglou confronted angry Tottenham fans on Thursday after the defeat as he admitted they had every right to be annoyed.

Despite taking all three points against the Lilywhites, there were two Bournemouth players who were left saying the same thing about Tottenham after the game.

Bournemouth’s Adam Smith hails physical Tottenham

It was a seriously disappointing display from Tottenham who are missing the likes of Cristian Romero who has a foot injury.

However, Postecoglou’s philosophy on his side clearly shone through to some of the opposing players who hailed Tottenham’s physicality.

Speaking to Amazon Prime after the game, former Spurs player Adam Smith praised his boyhood club after what he saw on the south coast.

“It’s a credit to the gaffer and the staff; they get us in great shape. You could see on the pitch, I think Spurs are the best physical team in the league,” he said.

“And I think we went toe-to-toe with them today.”

Jamie O’Hara now expects Postecoglou to be sacked with Tottenham not showing any signs of progression in the Australian’s second season at the club.

Dean Huijsen also praised Tottenham after scoring against them

The game was decided by just the one goal with young defender Dean Huijsen scoring a header from a corner.

Dominic Solanke returned to face his old side but the Spurs striker was unable to find the back of the net despite a number of opportunities.

However, the Cherries were clearly well drilled on what to expect from Postecoglou’s side with the youngster also saying similar to Smith after the game.

“We know Tottenham is also a very physical team so I think it was a great matchup and a great match to watch for the fans watching at home and in the stadium,” he told Amazon Prime.

Tottenham Hotspur have suffered their sixth defeat in the Premier League this season.

Ange Postecoglou promised a trophy at Spurs this campaign, and that got many fans excited. However, things have not gone to plan at all, especially in the Premier League.

Tottenham are 10th in the Premier League table after 14 games. They were nowhere near good enough in their 1-0 defeat against Bournemouth. The Cherries could’ve easily won the game 4-0.

Jamie O’Hara was absolutely furious with how Tottenham fared on Thursday night.

Jamie O’Hara slams one thing Ange Postecoglou makes his Tottenham players do

Tottenham should be in a much better position than they are right now.

Spurs have lost just as many games as they have won in the Premier League this season. They are closer in the table to 19th-place Wolves than they are to league leaders Liverpool.

Postecoglou’s system makes games really good to watch, but there are a few very obvious flaws that teams continue to take advantage of.

One is their defensive frailties in set-pieces – Tottenham conceded from a corner yet again on Thursday night and that is simply not good enough.

The other thing that has caused problems for Spurs is playing out from the back – especially a straight ball from the goalkeeper to a midfielder running towards his own goal.

Postecoglou continues to make his players do that despite the risks, and that has annoyed O’Hara, so much so that he wants football to ban that pass.

He said on talkSPORT: “I’m sorry, I know everyone loves Ange in terms of attacking football… I’m getting bored of watching this.

“Set pieces, playing out from the back should be banned. The straight ball playing out from the back should be banned in football. It is never on and Spurs do it every game.

“We are painful to watch.”

Postecoglou could get sacked at Tottenham

Tottenham need to turn things around as soon as possible.

The North Londoners have won just one of their last six games in all competitions, and that has led to Postecoglou getting involved in a heated exchange with Spurs fans at the away end at Bournemouth.

That is never a good sign, and O’Hara believes Daniel Levy will sack Postecoglou if Spurs’ position in the Premier League table does not improve by Christmas.

Tottenham’s next three games in the Premier League are against Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool. Two of those three games will be massive tests for Postecoglou and his men.

The Australian will come under even more pressure if his side don’t get decent results in those games.

Ange Postecoglou is under pressure now after Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Bournemouth in the Premier League.

The North Londoners have had a very tricky season. They have experienced the highs of battering Manchester City but have also been humiliated by teams like Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town.

After a disappointing draw against Fulham at home, Spurs fans were hoping to see a response against Bournemouth, but there was none.

The Cherries picked up a 1-0 win, and Postecoglou faced the wrath of the away fans after the full-time whistle at the Vitality Stadium.

Jamie O’Hara makes Ange Postecoglou sack claim after Tottenham lose to Bournemouth

Tottenham fans are not happy with their side’s recent performances.

Spurs are now 10th in the Premier League table and have lost just as many games as they have won after 14 games. That is simply not good enough.

Postecoglou has had to deal with a lot of injuries, but questions are still being asked of the Tottenham boss about some of his tactics.

The North Londoners conceded yet another set-piece goal on Thursday night – this has been an issue for a long time but there hasn’t been a solution yet.

Spurs fan and pundit Jamie O’Hara was not a happy man, and he has now boldly predicted that Daniel Levy will sack Postecoglou if one thing happens in the coming weeks – Spurs stay in 10th place at Christmas.

He said on talkSPORT: “You know what? I don’t know how much more… Look, I like Ange, I like the football he plays, I do. But, there’s a big but coming, but this is getting old, this football, in terms of set-pieces and playing out from the back.

“Daniel Levy ain’t going to stand for this. I’m telling you now. If he thinks he can go all the way through the season and keep defending like this, keep having set-pieces like this, he will get sacked.

“Daniel Levy is all about Champions League football, Europa League minimum. If Spurs are 10th in the table after Christmas, they will sack Ange. I’m telling you, they will sack him. This can’t continue.

“I feel like he’s starting to run on thin ice. I need to see more. One from the players because the players again tonight let themselves down, but I need more from the manager.”

Should Tottenham sack Postecoglou?

Six defeats in the first 14 Premier League games is simply not good enough, even though injuries have been a factor.

The performances of some of Spurs’ players this season have been really poor, but the buck stops with the manager and he is responsible for the results.

However, will sacking Postecoglou really change anything? We don’t think so!

Tottenham have been in a similar position with each of their last four managers. All of the previous ones were shown the door and there is a chance Postecoglou will face the same treatment.

But, at some point, Levy and the board will have to take some responsibility. They are to blame for Tottenham’s problems and there won’t be a fix until they change their ways.

Tottenham Hotspur’s 2024/25 campaign is turning out to be a hugely underwhelming one with another defeat added to their record.

Ange Postecoglou saw his side lose their sixth game in the Premier League in a 1-0 defeat against Bournemouth on Thursday night.

Paul Merson did not expect Tottenham to beat Bournemouth and he was proven exactly right by the dismal showing from the north Londoners.

It really has been disappointing for Tottenham who showed some signs of promise in their first season under the Australian.

Naturally, frustrations were high at the end of the game and Postecoglou took it into his own hands to try and calm down the away fans.

Ange Postecoglou confronts Tottenham fans after Bournemouth loss

Postecoglou lost his temper last week with Brennan Johnson against Roma but he had to deal with the visiting fans on Thursday night.

Spurs dropped down to tenth spot in the Premier League table after losing against the Cherries who actually leapfrogged them in the table.

It is only normal for the players to thank their travelling fans after an away game, but Postecoglou took it a step further in trying to calm the frustrations.

Injuries have plagued Tottenham this season with Postecoglou admitting Sergio Reguilon could return to the squad if needed.

But it seems as if the patience of those Tottenham fans who made the trip to the south coast may well be beginning to wear thin.

Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham fans are rightly annoyed

The results have not been good enough for Spurs this season with one point taken from their games against Crystal Palace, Fulham, Ipswich Town and Bournemouth.

Speaking to the media after the game, Postecoglou admitted that the fans who made the journey have every right to be disappointed.

“The fans were disappointed and rightly so,” he said.

“They gave us some direct feedback which we’ll take on board. (When asked what it was) It’s not something to be said in here.”

Tottenham Hotspur dropped more points on Thursday night as they suffered defeat on the south coast against Bournemouth.

Ange Postecoglou’s side have had major problems this season with a real lack of consistency shown in their results.

Spurs were praised for their Manchester City victory, however, the Lilywhites are yet to seal a victory across all competitions since.

Bournemouth leapfrogged Tottenham in the table with three points staying on the south coast which sums up a shaky start to the season for Spurs.

Dominic Solanke returned to the Tottenham starting XI, but it was another Tottenham forward who proved to be the main threat for the visitors.

Heung-min Son shone for Tottenham against Bournemouth

Postecoglou made the decision not to start Heung-min Son on Thursday night with a huge London Derby against Chelsea on the weekend.

It was a decision which the Australian may have lived to regret, with the South Korean coming on in the second half with Spurs looking toothless up front.

Son had the ball in the back of the net almost instantly before it was ruled out for offside in what was a bright substitute showing.

Mats Hummels hailed Son as one of his favourite players and the German will have enjoyed what he saw from the winger when he eventually came on.

Son signed for £22m back in 2015 and has seen a lot of change during that period but he has remained hugely important for the north London club.

Tottenham should be handing Son a new contract

Heading into the new year, the South Korean captain is playing into the final months of his contract in north London.

Tottenham have not offered Son a new contract, but they are looking likely to trigger his one-year extension in his current deal.

The 32-year-old has not exactly been playing at his absolute best this season having only returned three goals in the Premier League.

Manchester United are showing an interest in Son with clubs now becoming alert to his ongoing contract saga.

But Brennan Johnson has hailed Son as ‘amazing’ which shows just how much of an impact the forward has off the field as well as on it.

Having seen the impact he made off the bench on Thursday night, perhaps Spurs need to reconsider their decision in not offering Son a new deal.

Tottenham Hotspur take on Bournemouth on Thursday night as they look to get back to winning ways following their draw on the weekend.

Ange Postecoglou has seen his side struggle with a real lack of consistency lately with the Lilywhites going into Thursday’s game in eighth spot.

Tottenham could pull themselves up to fifth place, though, if they are able to return to north London with all three points from the south coast.

But Spurs are still nursing a number of injury issues with Cristian Romero still sidelined for the Bournemouth trip due to his foot injury.

This has led to Postecoglou looking deep into his squad of players for potential options to help beef out the matchday squad.

Malachi Hardy trains with Tottenham ahead of Bournemouth

It has been another difficult start to the campaign for Tottenham when it comes to injuries with numerous starters struck by respective problems.

Micky van de Ven is nearing a return from injury but he will remain sidelined for the trip to the south coast on Thursday.

Postecoglou has provided some opportunities to some of the youth players this season with Mikey Moore impressing Glenn Hoddle in the Europa League.

Although he may not get the opportunity to take to the pitch on Thursday night, 16-year-old defender Malachi Hardy has been spotted in first-team training.

The 16-year-old can be spotted both in the gym and during the on-field work as he wears the rather unusual 102 squad number on his training wear.

With Postecoglou having to dig deep with his squad, some Spurs fans are worried about Moore’s unexplained absence from the side after being initially described as an illness.

Who is Malachi Hardy?

Despite being just 16, Hardy has already racked up some impressive achievements as he is the current captain of the England U17 squad.

The youngster has earned himself seven caps at U17 level and has become a regular in the Tottenham U18 side.

Postecoglou even included Hardy in the matchday squad for the emphatic victory away to Manchester City the other week, although the defender did not feature off the bench.

Tottenham Hotspur have had quite a few players who have stepped up this season.

The North Londoners, for the most part, had a good 2023/24 campaign, but they fell off late in the season and blew their chances of finishing in the top four of the Premier League.

Spurs fans have been hoping that things will be different this time around, and although the results have been mixed, they have produced a few impressive performances.

Some Tottenham players deserve a lot of praise for how they have fared so far.

Ange Postecoglou says Dejan Kulusevski has been Tottenham’s ‘best player’

Dejan Kulusevski didn’t have the greatest 2023/24 season.

The Swede wasn’t awful by any means, but he only managed 11 direct goal contributions in 39 games in all competitions for Spurs.

The 24-year-old mostly played out wide last season, but things have been very different under Ange Postecoglou this time around.

Almost every game Kulusevski has played this season has come in a central position, and that seems to have brought the best out of him.

He has directly contributed to nine goals already, and we won’t be surprised at all if he doubles that number before the season ends.

Postecoglou, who compared Kulusevski to Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo, now thinks the Sweden international has been Spurs’ ‘best player’ this year.

Ahead of the game against Bournemouth, when Postecoglou was asked about his decision to rest Kulusevski on Sunday, he said, as per Football London: “You’ve always got to make decisions you think are right. I am never going to make decisions to alleviate or appease people’s opinions.

“Deki has been our best player this year and I want to protect him because there is no chance he can play all these games we’ve got. Like I say, even if they can play, performance will invariably drop because it is not sustainable.

“We have to pick and choose. I thought the weekend game, particularly with Pape and Madders and Biss in then, we’re missing Bentancur as well, whenever I was going to leave him out, it would leave a bit of a gap.”

One key Postecoglou change has made Kulusevski so much better

Kulusevski has always been an incredibly talented player.

The £110k-a-week (Spotrac) Swede had a great start to life at Spurs, but he had his struggles as well. Things just didn’t go his way at times and that made him a frustrating player to watch.

However, when he is in full flow, there are very few players who can have an impact on the game as well as Kulusevski. He can be brilliant.

The biggest change from last season to now is Postecoglou’s decision to move him centrally. That has made him incredibly dangerous and has also made the people around him better.

“The manager just put me there and I have played there before so it was no problem for me,” Kulusevski told BBC Sport in November.

“It feels very good. I score and assist so from this position I am always dangerous.”